The Arabic Language for Non-Natives

The Arabic Language for Non-Natives

banner

“Once you dive deeply in the expanse of the “Dhad” language, you will earn glory of its ocean with no shores. The almighty honored such language and blessed its rhythms by the revelation of the Arabic holly Quran. “

The Arabic language is signified by its originality, history, richness, and importance amongst the languages of the world as a whole. Amongst the numerous languages in the world, Allah- swt- chose Arabic to be the language of the holly revelation as he -swt- said: “Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an in order that you may understand”-12 Yusuf-. The Arabic language, the miraculous language or the language of 1400 years- as it’s being referred to-, the richest language in the world which can be described as a deep sea that never ends; no matter how much you strive to absorb its knowledge, you will never have enough, nor will you reach its end.

We, Arabs, are incredibly proud of our deer language and wish to witness it prevailing throughout the world so that each person would experience the joyful feeling of speaking in it, knowing its various vocabulary and deep expressions, and feeling the pride that every Arabic- speaking person feels. The German, Sigrid Hunke, expressed how amazed and mesmerized by the Arabic language by saying: “How can anyone resist the beauty, the logic, and the astonishing charm of this language?! Even the neighbors of Arabs who were concurred by them fell to its magic.”

Let’s dive deeply and learn the importance of the Arabic language globally, then dive again in its wide, deep sea and discover the effective methods of teaching it and what the Quran-learning courses are as well as the Fiqh courses. Moreover, we will understand the pros of each one of these courses and conclude our journey by presenting the most effective course of teaching the Arabic language to non-natives alongside the most qualified platforms for teaching Arabic:

The Importance of Learning The Arabic Language for Non-natives:

Al-Imam Al-Shafi'I described the richness of the Arabic language by saying: “We never learnt of someone who mastered the language, unless a profit”. If you kept searching for years and years to go, you would not find any other language that contains that massive number of synonyms, opposites, or plurals for the same word even if it was last used thousands of years ago.

On the other hand, if you observed an English poem, for example, which was written a thousand years ago, no one would understand it, except for the English linguists because of it’s the many changes that affected it throughout history. The German orientalist,Carl Brockelmann: and there is no dictionary equivalent to the Arabic one in its heritage; it is a river and the special dialects spoken by the Arab tribes are the  tributaries that keeps flowing into it.” For instance, is there any other existing language that has 70 synonyms for the word “dog”, 500 synonyms for the word” lion”, or 1,000 synonyms for the word “sword”!

The 4th Most Common Language:

The Arabic language speakers are numbered to be over 480 million people around the world, and there are 27 countries that are officially Arabic-spoken countries. By this, the Arabic language occupies the 3rd position globally regarding the number of countries that speak in it.

It was published by Britain a report which stated that it has become important for many to learn the Arabic language due to its major importance regarding knowledge when it comes to religion, politics, economy, and culture besides the fact that Arabic is the second most profit-earning language in the UK.

Furthermore, the United Nations has declared the Arabic language as one of its official languages. When it comes to the internet, Arabic is the 4th most spoken language by the number of 173.5 speaker according to statistics published in 2017.

Teaching Methods:

Learning the right articulation points of the Arabic letters, 10 articulation points, as well as their vocals is the foundation of pronouncing words correctly as the Arabic language has more articulation points than the ones that exist in other languages, such as Russian, Spanish, English,..etc.

The articulation points of the Arabic languages are divided into:

  • Deepest Part Of The Throat
  • Middle Of The Throat
  • Deepest Part Of The Tongue
  • Middle Of The Tongue
  • The Side Of The Tongue
  • The Tip Of The Tongue
  • The Lips

Thus, it is a must to start by teaching the sounds as many learners face some difficulties when trying to pronounce some of these sounds, such as” ح، ظ، ع، خ، ق”.

As soon as this skill is learnt, it will be easier for the learner to pronounce most of the Arabic words correctly.

Teaching Speaking:

During this phase, the teacher starts to teach the student some simple sentences and expressions so that he/she can interact with the teacher which will enhance the learner’s motivation to learn the language.

At this point, some visuals that describe sentences and expressions can be used to deliver the meaning in a faster and a more effective way.

Teaching the Grammatical Rules:

The teacher starts this phase with teaching the simple grammatical rules, then starts to apply them with the students by training to use these rules.

There are some methods that helps in simplifying the learning process, such as using the replacement methodwhich involves the teacher writing some sentence, for instance, then ask the student to replace one of the words in this sentence by another word that has the same usage and suits the context of the sentence.

This method highly helps in enhancing the ability of the student to remember and use his knowledge of the language as well as the enhancement of the interactivity of the lesson.

Teaching Vocabulary:

The teacher starts to teach the student the basic vocabulary which enables him/her to communicate, then starts to teach the learner more specific vocabs and so on.

Conversations and discussions may be used at this point which includes the merge of the target vocabs in into simple sentences and the discussing its meaning with the students.

Teaching Listening:

Learning any language significantly depends on listening. Therefor, the teacher trains the student to listen to simple sentences said by natives, then to listen to longer texts and so on. This way noticeably helps in developing the language level.

Teaching Reading:

The teacher teaches the learner how to read by gradual methods in teaching, starting from how to read words, then sentences, then texts. Also, learning the sounds helps effectively in the reading-learning phase.

Teaching Writing:

Throughout this phase, the teacher teaches the student how to write the Arabic letters, then how to merge letters together in order to form words so that the student can write what he/she has learnt so far.

Discipline is quite important in this phase; the more the learner writes daily, the faster his language develops.

As the Arabic School platformaims for each person in the world to have a chance to learn the Arabic Language, it decided to offer Arabic leaning courses for non-natives and many other courses. Let’s discover them together:

Arabic Learning Courses for Non-natives:

If you are looking forward to learning Arabic, then you are in the right place. Arabic school presents you a golden opportunity by offering Arabic learning courses starting from learning the letters to being able to hold a conversation in Arabic.

What is the advantages of this course and what will I learn?

  • This platform does not offer you language teachers only, but also the most qualified Al-Azhar university graduates which means the best at this field.
  • Learning the Arabic letters, their pronunciation, and vocals.
  • Learning how to form Arabic sentences by learning the grammatical rules and training on them.
  • Learning how to link the sounds and letters together to pronounce the Arabic words correctly.
  • Training on having different conversations according to the situation.

The Holy Quran Courses for Non-natives:

Learning the Arabic language has many benefits including, most importantly, simplifying the process of learning the holy Quran with its teachings and explanations. But if you cannot wait to learn Quran, the Arabic School offers you this unique course to start learning the Arabic of the holy Quran. What you will learn:

  • Learning how to read the holy Quran with the simplest way.
  • The explanation of the verses and knowing the moral of each sura
  • The continuous revision of already-learnt verses and chapters.
  • Learning the correct pronunciation when reading the Quran.

Maybe you don’t realize the importance of learning the holy Quran, so here are some reasons:

  • If you are searching for a way to get to know the creator of the universe-swt- and getting to know his names and characteristics, then you should learn Quran and understand it.
  • As soon as you start reading the Quran, you will find peace out of nowhere, and after you start comprehending its messages, your life will change as the Quran purifies the soul and the heart.
  • Feeling the blessings that Allah bestow upon you in each step you take and getting to learn the teachings of Shari’a which helps you in manage your life as Allah-swt said” And verily We have displayed for mankind in this Qur'an all manner of similitudes”.
  • The Quran learner has the highest positions here and hereafter, and the prophet Muhammad promised he who finds it hard to read Quran with a double reward as he said “The one who recites the Qur'an skillfully will be in the company of the noble and righteous messenger-angels and the one who reads the Qur'an, but stutters and finds it difficult, receives a double reward.”
  • The angels surround the Quran reader as the hadith mentions: “"Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allah to recite the Book of Allah, learning and teaching it, tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them and Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity."

The Fiqh Courses for Non-Speakers:

The linguistic definition of Fiqh means "understanding". The scientific meaning of Fiqh is the science which studies different Islamic precepts and laws by reasoning and deduction, such as, the precepts concerning family, State, work, trade, companies and banks, as well as the precepts concerning the Salat, the Sawm, the Hajj and the Zakah, for the purpose of applying or practicing them.

Therefore, the Arabic School offers you Fiqh learning courses to help you understand religion in a simple and easy way. So, you will learn:

  • All the teachings of the prophet’s sunnah
  • Recitation rules of Quran
  • Consensus (Muslim legal scholars’ agreement on a question in the religious affairs)
  • The analogic deduction (To associate something known with another for the purpose of establishing or denying a common ruling, due to the commonality between them, such as Alcohol and drugs)

Fundamentals of Islamic religion for Non-natives Course:

Al-Imam Khalifa Al-Nu’ma’n called it “the bigger fiqh” as it is also called “the science of creed” Which means “  'It is a science which studies the basic doctrines of the Islamic faith (usul al-Din). It identifies the basic doctrines and seeks to prove their validity and answers any doubts which may be cast upon them.'

Thus, you can learn all that is included in this kind of science through the fundamentals of Islam courses offered by Arabic School which will enable you to learn:

  • Allah’s names and characteristics as the main subject of the Islamic fundamentals is getting to know Allah-swt-.
  • The prophets, their characteristics, what they must be like, and what should and shouldn’t be referred to them.
  • Learning about the affairs of the creation, including the angels, the prophets, and the imams.

Religion is built on the science of religion’s fundamentals as stated by Ibn Taimiya:” It combined in these three ahadeeth the three characteristics; sincerity at any doing for the sake of Allah, seeking advice from the knowledgeable, sticking to Muslim groups. And these three combines the fundamentals of religion, and manages the affairs of the here and the hereafter.”

Shari’a Courses:

Allah has bestow Shari’a upon us to better the situations of humans and ordered us to follow his sharia by saying” Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know”. And that is because every single thing that Allah has ordered us with is a means to better our lives and enhance justice and peace as humans did not have any interference in it.Qurtoby says that shari’a is the path to survival.

Thus, shari’a teachers will help you through Shari’a courses for non-natives that are offered on the Arabic School platform in learning:

  • The rules Allah has regulated.
  • The right way to perform Ibadat and the teachings of Islam
  • All that was forbidden and nor forbidden by Allah-swt.
  • The virtues that any Muslim should obtain.
  • The to-do and not to-do’s that were given to us by Allah to guide us to Jannah.

And the most important characteristics of the Islamic shari’a are:

  • Allah did not regulate these rules for a certain group of people without the others, however shari’a is for every human being.
  • Also, Allah did not put these regulations for a certain period of time, however it could be applied at any time.
  • It is protected as Allah is protecting shari’a until the last day of the world.
  • Obligatory; it is never acceptable to oppose it as Allah said that whoever does not apply his shari’a has indeed lost the right path.

Finally, Why should we learn Arabic?

Learning Arabic has uncountable benefits which we might have mentions some of throughout this article. But let’s discuss other different points:

  • The Arabic language is not just a language, but rather a civilization, history, and origins that you will not get to know unless you learn Arabic.
  • Being highly intellectual; the Arabic language as a whole does not have any weakness or complexity in its vocabulary as it is the richest in the whole world. If you searched for years to go, you would not find a more intellectual poetry as the Arabic one.
  • Concise and comprehensive; You can express your thoughts fluently in the least number of words as the prophet says “ I have been given words which are concise but comprehensive in meaning;”
  • The future language; a study done by Birmingham university showed that “ The Arabic language is immortal, and will never extinct by time”.
  • By learning Arabic, you are opening the doors of fortune for yourself as you will be able to apply for any job that requires the Arabic language, and we have talked before about the importance of the Arabic language in the jobs market, especially in Europe as well as Africa and Asia.

The most important platform for leaning Arabic:

The most important thing you should search for in any platform is “what distinguishes this platform from the others?!”. What Arabic School platform offers you is not offered by any other platform as we do not offer courses only, but also the main goal of our platform is to teach Arabic to people from all over the world as well as teaching the Islamic religion in the right way. That is because we realize the importance of learning Arabic whether religion-wise, social-wise, or person-wise. The Arabic School targets those who seek learning the holy Quran, hadeeth, explanation, fiqh, sunnah, and shari’a to help them learn about their faith and its fundamentals from any place in the world.

And we do not claim that because it is our platform, but because we are certain of what we are doing and that you will learn from language admirers, not just teachers.  And you will feel all these advantages yourself throughout your experience with the Arabic School, and you will become sure of the love and effort exerted to teach both Arabic and Islam to the whole world.

And if you are interested to know more, here are some information about the Arabic School:

  • Arab teachers with long experience from Al-Azhar university.
  • 100% online courses to make it easier for you no matter where you are.
  • One-to-one courses so that the student can get all the required attention and benefit from the lectures.
  • Live courses which means they are not pre-recorded, but lectures through Zoom application so that the learner can interact with the teacher and discuss whatever he/she wants.
  • Reasonable prices for all who want to join.
  • 24-hour flexible timing to fit the timing difference between countries.

Conclusion:

The German orientalist Rinan said “ we did not come across such language that seemed to all researchers  perfect and remained pure of any impurity.” The Arabic language is the only perfect language that is not impurified by anything. A perfect language of letters, words, and rules as it is the language of the people of heaven. And if we spent days or even years to talk about the importance of the Aeabic language, it would not be enough. The Arabic sentence, word, and even letter have implications and deep meanings. Where would you fine any  other language that has the same richness as Arabic?!